Actor

1956-12-07 · United States · Male

50 series in the catalog

Mark Rolston (born December 7, 1956) is an American actor. He made his film debut as PFC. Drake in Aliens (1986), and is known for his supporting roles in films like Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Rush Hour (1998), The Departed (2006), and the Saw film series (2008–2009). On television, he played Gordie Liman on The Shield (2003), Edward Shippen IV on Turn: Washington's Spies (2015–2016), the voice of Lex Luthor on Young Justice (2010–2022), and Lt. Don Thorne on Bosch (2018–2021) and Bosch: Legacy (2022–2025).

Early life and education

Rolston was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1956, raised by a single father. He began studying acting and ballet as a child at the Washington Theatre Club in Washington, D.C. He graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Bethesda, where he was classmates with actor Daniel Stern. He studied acting at the Richmond American University London and Drama Centre London in England. Anton Rodgers was a mentor.

Career

Rolston's early career was in the theatre in the United Kingdom. He made his stage debut at the age of 19, in the West End play Are Now Or Have You Ever Been in 1976, about the House Un-American Activities Committee. He then starred in Miss Julie at the Edinburgh International Festival, Sam Shepard's Action at the London Festival Fringe, and Bus Stop at The Mill at Sonning. He played the title role in a US national touring production of Richard II for the National Shakespeare Company.

In 1984, he was cast in a minor role in the Al Pacino film Revolution. His role was cut from the final film, but he leveraged it into his audition for Aliens, and was cast as PFC Drake, his film debut.

Rolston played Hans in Lethal Weapon 2 (1989), Herb in Prancer (1989), Stef in RoboCop 2 (1990), Bogs Diamond in The Shawshank Redemption (1994), J. Scar in Eraser (1996), Chief Dennis Wilson in Daylight (1996), Wayne Bryce in Hard Rain (1998), and Special Agent Warren Russ in Rush Hour (1998).

Rolston acted in Martin Scorsese's Academy Award winning 2006 film The Departed and the television horror film Backwoods. Many of Rolston's screen roles are villains due to his well-known icy stare. He also co-starred in 2008's Saw V and 2009's Saw VI. In 1994, he portrayed convicted killer "Karl Mueller" in the Babylon 5 episode "The Quality of Mercy", as well as "Richard Odin", leader of a vegetarian cult in an episode of The X-Files titled "Red Museum". In 2004, Rolston would guest star in two episodes of the critically acclaimed 24. He appeared in a minor role in The CW series Supernatural during the fourth season as the demon Alastair. He also appeared as Sheriff Hall in the Criminal Minds episode, "Blood Hungry".

Rolston has also voiced several Marvel and DC characters, voicing Firefly in The New Batman Adventures and Justice League (he was originally considered to voice the supervillain in Batman: The Animated Series in 1992, although the character was deemed unsuitable for the series and ultimately dropped). He voiced Lex Luthor in the animated series Young Justice, Deathstroke in Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Knight, as well as Norman Osborn in the Spider-Man Insomniac Games.

Personal life

Rolston was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Evelyn Beverly (née Sturm) and Thomas George Rolston, who was a computer programmer. He has been married twice, first to Sally Hughes, between 1981 and 1987. Then to Georgina O’Farrill, starting in 1994. He has five children between both marriages.